A consistent feature of the statistics, not only in England and Wales
but across Europe and America, is that far fewer women are convicted
of crime than men – a fact which has changed little over the years.
Female offenders also show a different pattern of offending being less
involved in violent offences and proportionately more involved in
theft. In general most now accept that girls and women do commit fewer
offences than boys.
GENDER AND PATTERNS OF CRIME
Writing in 1977 Carol Smart stated:
Our knowledge is still in its infancy. In comparison with the massive
documentation on all aspects of male delinquency and criminality, the
amount of work carried out on the area of women and crime is extremely
limited.
Although the years since Smart’s study have seen much more interest in
the study of female crime and deviance, many general theories in this
area continue to neglect gender as a factor influencing criminality.
This is despite the fact that official figures suggest that gender is
perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is
convicted of crime. Any theories which fail to explain this
relationship could therefore be seen as inadequate.
OFFICIAL STATISTICS, CRIMINALITY AND GENDER
Pollak – the ‘masked’ female offender – ‘chivalry’ thesis
Writing in 1950, Otto pollak argued that official statistics on gender
and crime were highly misleading. He claimed that the statistics
seriously under-estimated the extent of female criminality. From an
examination of official figures in a number of different countries he
claimed to have identified certain crimes that are usually committed
by women but are particularly likely to be unreported.
Pollak went on to give reasons as to why there should be an
under-recording of female crime.
1. He argues that the police, magistrates and other law enforcement
officials tend to be men. Brought up to be chivalrous, they are
usually lenient with female offenders so that fewer women appear in
the statistics. However, he regards this as only a minor factor
These women have been increasingly going to jail for longer periods of time for minor crimes, the most frequent crimes that are being convicted are mostly related to drug and alcohol related crimes as well as theft (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). A survey conducted in New South Wales of female inmates had concluded that; 80% are current smokers, 78% have used an illicit drug(s), 67% were unemployed in the six months prior to incarceration, and 66% of these women had also been in a violent/abusive relationship (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). It has been argued that the risk factors for offenders are derived from that of genetic theories of crime and that they are an adequate guide for correctional supervision and treatment-planning decisions for females, however others argue that this approach is highly flawed and does not take into account gender differences (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). This is an issue in the CJS and its importance cannot be undervalued, the assessment for the risk and need has implications for the assignment of female offenders to a correction option that is the least restrictive, the assignment to an appropriate intervention dosage, appropriate targeting of criminogenic needs, and an understanding of female offending (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). Due to the increasingly large number
Classical and contemporary theory helps to explain gendered crime patterns. The feminist school of criminology argue criminology and criminal theory is very masculine, all studies into criminal behaviour, have been developed from male statistics and tested on males. Very little research is conducted into female criminality, this may be because women who commit crime are more likely to be seen as evil or mentally ill rather than criminal, this is because women are labe...
The rate of women’s conviction is on the rise (Van Wormer, Bartollas). The increase of incarceration is outdoing the conviction of the men (Van Wormer, Bartollas). Female defendants found guilty of felonies in State courts has more than doubled the proportion of male offenders since 1990 (Greenfeld, Snell). Male offenders are estimated to commit about one violent offense for every nine males; the estimation is six times that of women (Greenfeld, Snell). Women are held accountable for about 2.1 violent offenses (Greenfeld, Snell).
When it comes to gender and crime most theories have typically focused on males and how they have influence crime rates, however in this modern day and age it is imperative to discuss and debate why gender is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of crime. We would like to use Agnew’s theory and take it one step further to hypothesis why men (who were at least born male and identify as male) commit significantly more crime or why women (who were at least born female and identify as female) commit significantly less.
Crew, B. Keith. “Sex differences in criminal sentencing: Chivalry or patriarchy?” Justice Quarterly (Mar. 1991): n. pag. Print.
According to Beirne & Messerschmidt men commit more crimes than women. With men making up 78% of arrests for every crime except Larceny, they are also more likely to commit conventional and serious conventional crimes. Especially in the case of white collar and political crimes, men make up a vast majority
Crimes are committed by all genders, based on gendered traits there are common crimes associated with both male and females. Most violent crimes committed by men are murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robbery (LaMance, 2011). Crimes that women offenders often commit are prostitution, murder, theft, and arson. Not all violent crimes are committed by males, many women also commit the same crimes. Nonviolent crimes are committed a lot also such as gambling, prostitution, arson, fraud, and bribery (LaMance, 2011). Crimes occur daily by people of all ages and gender, and based on gender there are common crimes.
When the criminal justice system was established, one of the goals was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. However, during those times, women were not known for behaving in such manners. If a woman did in fact take part in any criminal activities, those crimes would have been blames on an individual that could of not fought for themselves. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being looked down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can behave like men. Society stereotypes women; and, the criminal justice system is no different. When it comes to the stereotyping of women in the criminal justice system, society presents women who are indeed capable of committing such crimes as victims because by doing do they can achieve a lesser sentence or if necessary a longer sentence that will protect them from any harm.
Studies dating back to 1993 show that this has been true for over twenty years. More recent studies show that this disparity is still occurring today. We continue to see males incarcerated more often and for longer terms when compared to females. There are those who argue that gender disparity does not take into account legal characteristics such as criminal history and offense severity. However, studies have been conducted that do in fact take control for those factors. The same outcome is reached. Even with legal characteristics considered, female offenders are less likely to be incarcerated compared to male offenders. Theories have been developed as an attempt to explain why this disparity occurs. Some tend to favor the chivalry/paternalism thesis while others favor the focal concerns perspective. Either way, gender disparity is occurring with no legally relevant reason to explain it. The federal sentencing guidelines were developed in order to prevent disparity from occurring. However, we see that judges still tend to consider extralegal factors when sentencing. It is important that the criminal justice system follow the guidelines set in place so that all cases are sentenced in an equal and fair
Statistical evidence has shown that women do in fact receive lesser and longer sentences when they are convicted of the similar crimes as men; such as drug related crimes (Coughenour, 1995). Criminologists provide different theories that explain the differences between male and female treatment in the criminal justice system. Once of the known theories that are express by the male counterpart that make up the criminal justice system is ‘chivalry’. By definition, ‘chivalry’ is the protection of women. This term start...
While most of the violent crimes that happens most are them are belongs to men, women have not been the wilting flowers promoted so heartily by Victorian adorers and (right or wrong) often evident in today's society. Before we get into detail about the fascinating phenomenon of the Black Widow, it is worth a brief overview of women's escalating role in the world of violent crime, particularly in the United States.
Historically, criminology was significantly ‘gender-blind’ with men constituting the majority of criminal offenders, criminal justice practitioners and criminologists to understand ‘male crimes’ (Carraine, Cox, South, Fussey, Turton, Theil & Hobbs, 2012). Consequently, women’s criminality was a greatly neglected area and women were typically seen as non-criminal. Although when women did commit crimes they were medicalised and pathologised, and sent to mental institutions not prisons (Carraine et al., 2012). Although women today are treated differently to how they were in the past, women still do get treated differently in the criminal justice system. Drawing upon social control theory, this essay argues that nature and extent of discrimination
Parole (early release from prison) is often referred to as the back door to the US corrections system. The concept of parole dates back to the establishment of the Elmira Reformatory. The goal of the Elmira Reformatory was to rehabilitate and reform the criminal instead of following the traditional method of silence, obedience, and labor. Parole was originally set up to encourage prisoners to do well, keep their noses clean, and become model prisoners. Once a prisoner had shown rehabilitation and reform they were released prior to the execution of their full sentence.
Starting in the 1980s, reports of female involvement in gangs, drug sales, and violence began to surface as a serious problem in America. To support claims of increased female delinquency, reporters and scholars often cite crime statistics or anecdotes from field studies. The reasons they give to explain this female crime wave generally fall into one of two categories: drugs as a means for economic success the idea that the increased availability of crack cocaine provides economic means to poverty-ridden women suffering from the effects of urbanization and deindustrializationand social movements the idea that female “liberation” has hit the streets.
Feminist criminology is the study of crime in terms of gender for example why men commit more crime than women, why women do more petty crimes, like shop lifting, than violent crime, sexism in the court system, and female victimization. Feminist criminology contains many branches. Liberal, radical, Marxist, and socialist feminism are widely recognized, although other "strands" exist such as postmodernism and ecofeminism. Most feminist criminology involves critiques about how women offenders have been ignored, distorted, or stereotyped within traditional criminology, but there is no shortage of separate theories and modifications of existing theories.